The DFW Hospital Council (DFWHC) announced today the 2025 recipients of its Young Healthcare Executive of the Year and Kerney Laday, Sr. Trustee of the Year awards. Christina Mathis, CEO at Medical City Las Colinas, has been named this year’s Young Healthcare honoree while John P. Boswell of Cook Children’s Medical Center will be the Kerney Laday, Sr. awardee.

The awards will be presented during DFWHC’s 77th Annual Awards Luncheon on October 24 at the Loews Arlington Convention Center. The reception begins at 11:00 a.m., followed by the luncheon and awards from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Young Healthcare Executive of the Year Award honors youthful professionals who display the impressive abilities of future North Texas leaders. Nominees must be 40 years of age or younger and employed by a DFWHC-member hospital. This year’s recipient Mathis was named CEO of Medical City Las Colinas in March 2025. Having worked for HCA Healthcare since 2016, Mathis previously served as CEO of Medical City Frisco and COO of Medical City Plano. As the new CEO of Medical City Las Colinas, a 99-bed acute care hospital, Mathis provides leadership, strategic direction and is responsible for all financial operations and clinical quality outcomes. She was named a rising star in healthcare by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2023.

The Trustee of the Year honor was named in memory of Kerney Laday, Sr., who served on the Texas Health Resources Board for a decade. The award was created in 2013 to honor trustees who have displayed excellence throughout their careers. Boswell has been a Cook Children’s trustee for more than 25 years, serving on the Cook Children’s Health Foundation; past Chair of Cook Children’s Medical Center; and past Chair of Cook Children’s Medical Center – Prosper. During his tenures, Boswell has guided Cook Children’s through several major expansions including the addition of the North Tower which provided an additional 158 patient rooms to the hospital; the creation of the Dodson Specialty Clinics; and the construction of Cook Children’s Medical Center – Prosper. Boswell also serves as Chair of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Foundation Board and was a previous Chair of Goodwill Industries. He was also a founding board member of Tarrant Blue, an organization providing support to families of peace officers killed in the line of duty.

“With these awards, we are proud to acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of Christina Mathis and John P. Boswell, who have dedicated their careers to our community’s health and well-being,” said Stephen Love, president/CEO of DFWHC. “We are looking forward to recognizing their significant contributions.”

During the Annual Awards Luncheon, DFWHC will also present its Distinguished Health Service Award to the Honorable Lyndon L. Olson Jr., the longtime board member of Scottish Rite for Children and Baylor Scott and White Health. An additional highlight will be the appearance of Dr. Stephen Trzeciak as keynote speaker. The bestselling author of “Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes a Difference,” Trzeciak will share his story of going through burnout while working as a physician, and how compassion was the key to his recovery.

The awards luncheon will be sponsored in part by Hall Render, Forvis Mazars and ShiftKey. For information, please contact Chris Wilson at chrisw@dfwhc.org.